If this is your first visit, be sure to
check out the FAQ by clicking the
link above. You may have to register
before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages,
select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.

CA - Maxine Brewer, 43, Napa, 18 Nov 1975

On the afternoon of Tuesday, November 18, 1975, the fully-clothed body of 43-year-old Maxine Macel Brewer was found on a mudflat of the Napa River, approximately one quarter-mile north of Lincoln Avenue. The victim’s hands and wrists were bound with a thin wire. According to the Napa Register, cause of death was attributed to a “gaping chest wound that was caused by some sort of projectile or a sharp hand-held instrument.” Police theorized that the murder had occurred elsewhere and the killer dumped the body from a nearby area accessible by vehicle.

An autopsy revealed numerous bruises and several broken ribs that occurred prior to death, injuries that suggested a physical confrontation. Police believed the victim had “probably been roughed up before she was stabbed to death” and bled out before being tossed into the river. The coroner estimated time of death as 4-8 days and 1-4 days as the length of time the body was in the water.

Brewer’s father reported her missing on Monday, November 17. She was last seen by her parents on Friday, November 7, when they dropped her off at her apartment at 2021 1st Street.

Three days after Brewer was recovered, police publically stated that they had “several leads but would not elaborate." Articles reported that police were questioning family and friends of the victim.

At the time of her death, Brewer worked as a housekeeper/cook. She was twice divorced with four children. A native of Oklahoma, she had called Napa home since 1948.